Isolation
by eternity of black
Summary: Set long after the events of Dead Rising in world now overrun with zombies. How long can one man last in Williamette Mall by himself before insanity takes hold? One shot.


I do not own Dead Rising. This story is about a man who comes to Williamette Mall long after Frank has left. Shortly after Frank had escaped he was caught and silenced by the government, in other words he was killed. This prevented him from getting the info out and the country soon fell to the zombie hordes.

Day 4, 8:55 a.m.

I got up early today, and with good reason. Today was the day help was finally coming, at least thats what i was told.  
I picked up my cell phone and checked the time, it said 8:55. Just five minutes now. I grabbed the pistol, made sure it was loaded, and put it in my holster. I grabbed as many ammo clips as i could and put them in my bag. I made one final check to make sure i got everything and headed towards the roof.

After a few minutes of walking i reached the door that led to the roof. Before i opened it however, i checked the time again, 9:02. It was right then that i began to grow worried, the call was late. Only two minutes late, but Dave had never called late before. Just then the phone rang and relief washed over me.

"Hey Dave, you guys on you way yet?" I answered happily.

"Uh, about that. We ran into some problems Gar." Dave replied.

"Porblems? What sort of-" i started before Dave cut me off.

"Look Gar, i don't have time to explain it all. Just know that we've been infected." He said quickly.

"Jesus Dave. I thought that place was safe." I said in disbelief.

"Ha, pretty soon theres not gonna be anywhere thats safe anymore. Me and a few other guys are tryin to barricade the food court, but its not lookin good." He said grimly.

"Is there any chance you can get out Dave?" I asked.

"We're not gonna give up Gar, but i don't think we can get out now. Look, i gotta go Gar. I think they're comin in. Im sorry." Dave finished, but he didn't hang up. He knew i wouldn't either, he wanted me to know. So there was no doubt. I heard the screams of the infected as they charged the food court, which was quickly drowned out by the sound of gunfire. After a few seconds though, the only sound that could be heard was that of flesh getting torn and chewed.

On the fouth day of his hellish time in Williamette Mall, Jhonny Garland threw his phone off the roof and watched it shatter against the pavement.

Day 11, 3:30 p.m.

After my now daily two hour work out i take a quick jog around the mall. Then i either watch a movie or watch one of the three channels on t.v. that aren't on the E.B.S. Two of them are news channels and the other is a list of shelters or safe places for people to go. They weren't safe at all though. Every day the list grew shorter. The news channels were basically the same shit over and over again. They still didn't know what caused all this, they think its spread by bites and scrathes, but they're not even sure.

The downside to the news channels is that about every hour it repeats the same shit again. About every two days some new piece of info creeps up. Other than t.v. i've been amusing myself with various things in the mall. I've been combing the shops and picking up anything i found interesting.

On the eleventh day of his time at Williamette Mall, Jhonny Garland began to explore his surroundings.

Day 22, 1:30 p.m.

Today something happened that suprised me. A new channel came on, it wasn't news or anything like that.  
It was broadcast from a t.v. station a couple towns over. A bunch of people locked themselves in it and decided to go on the air. They were church going people, which was obvious from the large amount of bible quotes and preachers that went on the air. They would say where they were every half hour or so and then get back to the bible quoting and preaching.

Now i had never been a religous man, but this quickly became my favorite channel. It was because these people were like me, they were trapped somewhere. They know they can't get out, but they still go on. Plus its the only channel that has anything new on, i still checked the news every few hours but not for long.

Over the next few days i found myself watching the preacher channel more and more. Somedays all i would do is my daily work out and then watch the preachers. I began to notice this and decided it wasn't healthy. If i found myself watching them for too long i would turn them off and watch a movie instead. If i didn't feel like a movie i would put some music in or try a new food place in the mall. I knew that if i watched too much of the god people i'd lose it, and i didn't want that.

I'd discovered that i now faced a different enemy than the people outside of my mall. They were fighting for thier very lives while i was fighting against boredom. I was fighting to keep myself occupied, to distract myself from this deteriorating world i now found myself in.

On the twenty second day of his time at Williamette Mall, Jhonny Garland began to run out of things to do.

Day 37, 9:25 p.m.

There was now a new face on my t.v., the face of Alonzo Kingsly. He was a priest who had recently began giving speeches on the only channel left. The news and shelter channels had gone off the air last week, and i didn't expect them to come back on. This new man on the preacher channel had captivated me. Unlike the rest of the people on the preacher channel, he didn't tell you to find strength in god or any of that shit. He was preaching about how our sins had brought this on us.

"My children, hear me." he began. "And through me hear the truth, gods truth. Now do not fool yourself into thinking that nature caused this. There is only one explaination, this is armageddon. It has long been foretold in the bible that god would punish us for our sins. We could not hide our sins from god, and his vengence is upon us. God can no longer stand by and let our sins go unpunished, he will use our dead as his arm of justice. He will clense us with a flood of corpses rather than water this time. We have squandered this paradise of eden that was givin to us.  
God is wiping this world clean, perhaps to start anew, or perhaps once and for all." He finished.

Speeches like this are the reason i always watched Alonzo. He was thought provoking and he had a powerful presense.  
I found myself falling into depression this last week. The preacher channel had taken a darker turn since Alonzo had gone on the air. Many of the priests now began to preach damnation rather than salvation. This was the first time i began to consider killing myself. Every day i felt alone and fearful. It had gotten to the point where i no longer left the security room except to get food. When i did leave, i'd find myself thinking of various ways i could use the malls layout to end my life. I would see the stairs and envision myself rolling down them at high speeds until my neck breaks. I would think about where the best place to jump off of the second floor would be. I even thought about just opening the malls doors and letting them devour me.

On the thirty seventh day of his stay at Williamette Mall, Jhonny Garland began to give up hope.

Day 43, 11:30 p.m.

Today was the day i finally made up my mind. I wasn't gonna spend anymore hours arguing with myself, it was time.  
But how? I won't use a gun, out of the question. Some people would say thats the best way to do it, quick and painless.  
It's just not how i wanna go. The last thing i want is to be found with my brains all over the place.

The minute i decided to kill myself was also the minute i decided how it would be done. I tried to think of a better way but nothing else came to me. So i started looking around for the best spot to do it. After about an hour i had picked out three spots that were acceptable.

The first was in the Entrance Plaza to the mall, there was a big bee statue that had a strong foundation and would have easily held my wieght. It also had the added bonus of being the first thing you see when you walk in, meaning that if anybody comes in here they won't have to search for me. Ultimately i decided against this spot for one reason. The last thing i would've seen would be those infected fucks banging on the doors, there's no way in hell im gonna let that be the last thing i witness on this earth.

The next spot was in a storage room. There were a dozen things that would have been suitable to use. I didn't choose this spot either, im not really sure why. It just didn't feel right, too dark and glommy. It wasn't the sort of place i would have liked to die in.

So i picked the third spot, it was in Paradise Plaza. The Columbian Roastmasters on the had a huge coffee sign that stuck out. It was about fifteen feet up and looked sturdy enough, a good place to hang yourself. I spent all day setting up and made sure everything was perfect.

After everything was ready i sat down and thought about my life. I thought about all the things i had done and what i was about to do. I had always been told that commiting suicide was a one way ticket to hell. But hadn't i led a good life? I thought i had, at least for the most part. God would understand and even if he didn't surely hell could be no worse than this.

Even after all my thinking and probing, i decided to sleep on it. I would live at least one more night in this place.

On the fourty third day of his time at Williamette Mall, Jhonny Garland decided to kill himself.

Day 44, noon.

I walked slowly to the place i had choosen for my death. I was taking everything in for the last time. I noticed how beautiful the sunlight was as it hit the various shop windows. It was the little things that stood out on my last day alive. The things people usually don't notice.

As i reached the the place i would die at i decided i wanted one last coffee before i died. Why not? I went inside and made myself the most delicious beverage i had ever had in my life. I had tasted better coffee, sure,  
but i enjoyed this one so much because i knew it was the last thing i would ever drink.

After i finished my drink i decided it was time to get down to business. I took an entire half an hour to secure the rope and make sure it would hold. I didn't want to have it slip off at the last minute, as i didn't think i would work up the courage to attempt suicide again if i failed.

I set up a ladder and climbed to the top step. When the noose was securly around my neck i took a deep breath.  
After one final glance around the mall i was ready to face death, so i kicked the ladder out from under me. I dropped about a foot before the rope tightened and cut off my ability to breathe. I struggled for a minute in blind panic at what i'd just done, but that didn't last long. After about thirty seconds i went limp and just looked around while i waited for death to finally claim its victory over me.

In the final seconds of my life i took one more look down the mall. Lo and behold, salvation had arrived as i saw death coming to fetch me. My vision was starting to go black as he approched, but i could see he wasn't alone.  
I suppose even death needs minions. The dark figures were shouting something from across the mall but i couldn't hear them. As the mall was swallowed into darkness i heard only the howl of eternity as i was swept into the black embrace of the dead.

Epiloge, Day 44, 2:04 p.m.

They tried to save the man hanging from the Columbian Roastmasters sign, but they were too late. They pulled him down and performed CPR, however it was no use. He was gone and there was no bringing him back. They didn't know who he was but they knew he had too have been here for a while if things got that bad for him. Hell, the only reason none of us had offed themselves yet is because we were a group, and people do much better when thier not alone.

William Gosler lit up a smoke as he looked at the dead guy. Poor fellow, who knows how long he had been here by himself. Will and his little group had been holed up at a mini-mart for over a month before lack of food forced them to make the trip here.

"Well guys, lets get this fella buried. I think theres some dirt in this mall somewhere's." He told every one. William may not have known this man, but he was gonna see to it that the guy had a proper burial. At least as proper as possible in the current situation.

They took him into the park that seperated the plazas of the mall. After picking a spot that over looked the pond, they dug a grave. When the mystery man was in the ground they put a cross over him to mark the spot. Will didn't know if the man was a christian but he decided whoever he was would apperciate the effort on Will's part. Will and the others left Jhonny and proceeded to settle into the mall.

And on the fouty fouth day of his stay at Williamette Mall, Jhonny Garland rose from the dead.


End file.
